Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav has announced to a week-long 'Kisan Jagruk Sapta' (Farmers Awareness Week) from January 24 to 30 to protest against the three farm laws. He has urged people to form human chains to protest against the farm laws.
The former deputy chief minister of Bihar has given the clarion call to support the cause of farmers and their agitation against three controversial farm laws.
The RJD led grand alliance human chain would be organised for half an hour from 11 AM to 11:30 AM on January 30 in which grand alliance will try to show their unity as well.
Tejashwi Yadav, who is also the leader of the opposition, has urged all the leaders of the grand alliance to take part in the human chain apart from urging the common people to make it a grand success.
Speaking over the issue RJD national general secretary Shayam Rajak said, “Nitish Kumar organised the human chain on the issue of total prohibition of alcohol but the reality is something else. Liquor is available everywhere in Bihar. There will be self participation of people of Bihar, unlike Nitish's human people who were forced to join the human chain."
CPM state secretary Awadhesh Kumar said, “The human chain called by Grand Alliance is going to be historic. Farmers are in great pain and they are going to teach a good lesson to the NDA government..”
It was in 2017 that a human chain was formed under the Nitish's regime to support the total prohibition of alcohol in Bihar. Nitish government had claimed that around 4.2 crore people participated in the human chain across the state and it was 16,000km long human chain.
Tejashwi had termed Nitish's human chain as self-praise exercise for the chief minister and wastage of public money. In fact, the opposition was part of the first two human chains when Nitish was with RJD and Congress.
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RJD said that though they do not have any support of the government machinery but has expressed hopes that thousands of people will participate for the farmers' right.
Tejashwi using Nitish's weapon to defeat him
NDA leaders took a jibe on Grand Alliance calling them copycats.
“Opposition is just copying what we have done a long time back. They are forming the human chain on the issue of farmers but I must tell you that no farmers would be standing beside them that day,” said BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel.
JD(U) spokesperson Nikhil Mandal said, “When we had formed a human chain they were criticising us but I am happy that Tejashwi has learned something from his Chacha (read Nitish). Only the outcome of his human chain will prove how much he has learned because we have already proved ourselves with a record margin of people's participation.”
Unlike Nitish's human chain in which government employees were also the part of it, Tejashwi's human chain would be mostly attended by the party workers though he has urged the common man to join it.
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“Tejashwi knows very well that how important is the human chain theory to create a narrative. Such a programme is not only restricted to Nitish and could be organised by the opposition as well. Nitish always takes pride in organising the human chain as crores of people participate in it but at the cost of people's money. Huge money is spent by the government to make it a successful event. If Tejashwi would be able to leave a small mark without government's support, it would be a big achievement in his political career, “said a political expert on the condition of anonymity.
In 2018, the human chain was formed against the prevailing child marriage and dowry and in 2020 for protecting the environment. Last year, the Nitish government faced severe criticism when CM had hired 12 choppers for aerial videography despite facing a cash crunch and not able to pay the salary of school teachers for three months.
